Everybody knows that it was really inevitable.
In a recent survey conducted by Strategy Analytics, a respected research company, it was determined that China has now overtaken the United States in the total number of smartphone shipments. Shipments of smartphones to China reached 23.9 million devices in the third quarter of this year, compared to the 23.3 million that was shipped to the United States. The increase in smartphone shipments to China was 58 percent over the figures posted in the second quarter, which is phenomenally significant. Compare this to the United States where shipments dropped seven percent for the same period.
One of the factors for the dramatic increase in smartphone shipments to China could be attributed to the increased availability of smartphones in different avenues like different retail outlets. Another factor is the increased subsidies mobile providers give to smartphones, especially the high-end units like the iPhone. Of course, the increase in the number of low-cost, affordable Android smartphones is definitely one of the biggest factors for this increase. It has come to a point that even a person’s backup phone – which is usually occupied by a barebones feature phone – is now being replaced by another smartphone.
One of the interesting findings in the Strategy Analytics survey is that Nokia enjoys the biggest share in China’s smartphone market. The Finnish phone manufacturer currently enjoys a 29 percent share of the total sales for the third quarter. But Nokia’s dominant position is already being threatened by the rising sales rates for both Apple and Samsung smartphone products.
Originally posted on November 24, 2011 @ 11:38 am